


Some Teacher (arc four)

by RaaorQtpbpdy



Series: Some Teacher [5]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Bad Decisions, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Manipulation, Family, Gang Violence, M/M, Murder, Sparring, firearms, mentions of abuse, unnamed character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 02:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21609688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaaorQtpbpdy/pseuds/RaaorQtpbpdy
Summary: "Hey, Nagisa-sensei." Shirota was finally going to ask his teacher about the issue that had been burning in the back of his mind since his brother's request the other day."Yes?""What do you think about family?""I think... it's more abstract than most people are led to believe," Nagisa said after a moment. "Family isn't necessarily blood relations, and blood relations aren't necessarily family. I take it this has something to do with what you were trying to ask me before? Is it your brother?"Shirota didn't respond. He looked down in thought."The wrong kind of family are fair weather friends," Nagisa told him. “They act like they care, but once they have what they want and you're no longer useful, they leave you with nothing. I'd warn you against getting too tied down by the traditional concept of family.""Thanks Nagisa-sensei..."*Taking place right after Assassination Classroom, as seen largely through the eyes of his students. (In 3rd person of course, don't worry)(Arc 1 completed)(Arc 2 completed)(Arc 3 completed)Started.............29/11/19Completed.......5/5/20Originally posted on my WattPad @RaaorQtpbpdy
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Shiota Nagisa
Series: Some Teacher [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1045673
Comments: 87
Kudos: 473





	1. Brother time!

"Oi! Yukine!" Shirota's older brother came up to him the moment he walked in the door. Damn. He'd been hoping to at least get a shower before having to deal with whatever shit Nagone was undoubtedly going to dump on him. He'd just gotten back from the class-trip to the mountain, and if he was being honest, he seriously reeked.

"What's up Nagone?" he asked, barely able to suppress his sigh. "Can we make this quick? I really need a shower."

"Yeah sure, it ain't urgent," Nagone rolled his eyes at his younger brother. "Whatever, we can talk later, I got other shit to do anyway. Come to the base tonight, and _don't_ leave me hanging, little bro."

"Sure." Yukine shrugged and sighed. As his brother walked away, he noticed the handle of a gun sticking out of the back of Nagone's jeans, and he scoffed. Yukine would be the first to admit he was no genius, but even _he_ knew that was a bad idea.

He stopped by his room to drop off his bag and jacket, and then went to wash up. _Tonight, huh?_ Yukine sighed to himself as he began to undress, and adjust the temperature of the water. _I wonder what he wants this time?_ _Probably something sketchy. Or maybe he just wants to get on my ass about preparing me for the family business again, like when he taught me to shoot._ He stepped under the stream of steaming water, and reached for the soap.

Yukine was of the opinion that two generations did not constitute a "family business." Although, Yukine would have been of the opinion that _twenty_ generations didn't constitute a family business if it meant not being part of Nagone's gang. Not that his opinion mattered anyway.

His brother was grooming him—or at least trying to groom him—to be the perfect second-in-command. Powerful, remorseless, and loyal to a fault. And whether he liked it or not, Yukine had to admit it sort of worked. He was among the best in his class at fighting, and he found he cared less and less about people getting hurt, which honestly scared him. Not to mention, as much as he disliked his brother, they were still brothers, and whenever Nagone needed him, he always helped, if grudgingly.

So even though he didn't want to know what his brother wanted to talk to him about, Yukine was sure that he'd go meet up with him at the base anyway. He wondered vaguely if it had always been like that. He knew that Nagone hadn't always wanted to be a crime lord. There was a time, when he was young, that Nagone had wanted to be an astronaut, but evidently it hadn't lasted very long, because Yukine had no recollection of it.

The scalding water cascaded down his body, rinsing away the last of the soap, then Yukine turned it off and stepped onto the ragged bathmat. He dried his hair and body roughly before wrapping the towel around his waist, and took off toward his room to get dressed.

On the way out, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, and scowled at the large scar on his abdomen, and the coiled green dragon tattooed on his shoulder. Who knife-spars with a twelve year old, and tattoos him a year later? That asshole. Yeah. Fuck Nagone.

Even so, at eight that evening, Yukine found himself at the door of the shitty crackhouse his brother and his gang called HQ. He let himself in through the front door, knowing no one would stop him. He was the boss' kid brother, after all, and messing with him would result in broken bones at the very least. As he neared the meeting room, he heard his brother's voice, and stopped short, stepping around the corner and pausing to listen.

"The deal is set," Nagone was saying, or rather, Daimondai, as his gang called him. "We're meeting up with our temporary allies next week, and the job goes down five days after that, so be ready. And don't take any shit from them, yeah! They're not better than us!" This was met by cheering, and Daimondai dismissed his crew to go about their business.

_Deal? Temporary allies? Job?_ Yukine echoes his brother's words in his head. _What in the hell is going on._

"Hey little bro!" Yukine barely managed not to startle at his brother's greeting. "Just the guy I wanted to see. Come this way." He gestured for his brother to follow him to the shabby room he called his office. "You're almost eighteen now, right?"

"Three weeks," Yukine confirmed once the door closed behind him. "Why? What's going on?"

"You're more than old enough to join up Yu," Nagone said. "Be _part_ of the gang, and not just under its protection." Reflexively, Yukine's hand reached over to his tattoo. Their father had them both branded with it when they were kids, 'for protection.' "You've got the skills. I mean, you're a little rough around the edges, but we could use you. Especially for the big project we've got comin' up." 

"You want me to officially join your band of miscreants?" Yukine scowled. "What, so I can be arrested along with the rest of you morons when the police bust your whole operation?"

"Because you're family, Yukine," Nagone said, his face sedate, earnest. "This is dad's legacy, don't you wanna be a part of it? Both Shirota brothers, working together, nothing could bring us down. We're stronger together, always have been."

_He's manipulating me_ , Yukine realized, depressingly. _Next he's gonna whip out those stupid puppy dog eyes and guilt trip me with something that happened a long time ago._ The real kicker though, it was working. Yukine always had trouble saying no to his brother. They were family. They were blood.

"Can I have some time to think it over?" Yukine asked. He wasn't sure it would make any difference, but maybe if he had some time to clear his head, he could convince himself not to go along with his brother for once. Maybe he could overcome his god-forsaken loyalty to the worst of bad influences.

"Sure, brother." Yukine forced himself not to cringe at the reminder. They were brothers. He couldn't betray Nagone, so what was he going to do? "Just don't take too much time, yeah." Yukine gritted his teeth and nodded, backing out of the room, desperately wanting to go home and sleep, and maybe never wake up.

As he changed and went to bed, his mind was riddled with uncertainty, and his sleep was restless. He decided he had to go to someone with this. But who? And how? The answer came to him at around three a.m, as he tossed and turned, technically asleep, but only growing more exhausted. Nagisa-sensei. He was a teacher. He was smart. Not to mention he was a badass. And he knew about Nagone. Maybe he could help.

—

After an unbelievably long weekend, which was actually just a normal length weekend, Shirota went back to school. He planned to talk to Nagisa sensei after class. But what could he even say? _Hey, so you know my brother's a crime lord, and I hate it, but I'm gonna join his gang anyway, so would you mind talking me off this ledge before I become a career criminal because of my misguided loyalties?_

Shirota already knew it was a bad idea, and yet here he was, planning on getting his _teacher_ to talk him out of it. He was an idiot. How would he even go about asking for something like that? Like, _without_ sounding completely insane?

Eventually, the school day ended, the bell rung, and class 3-5 filed out of the room. Nagisa stayed behind, organizing papers, and waiting for the room to empty so he could lock up. Shirota made his way to Nagisa-sensei's desk.

"Nagisa-sensei?" That was a good safe way to start, but how would Shirota follow it up. _There's this thing I'm gonna do, and I know it's a bad idea, but if I hear you say it, I might actually listen?_ No _._

"Yes Shirota-kun?" Nagisa smiled amiably, as he looked up, then frowned in concern, upon actually seeing his student. Shirota thought he was hiding his fears pretty well, but somehow Nagisa saw right through his pokerface. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, there's this..." _really stupid thing I'm gonna do, and I need you to talk me out of it_. No. "I mean, it's like this, see my..." _brother wants me to join his gang, and I can't say no because we're family, which means we have to stick together_. No. Shirota sighed. "Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow Nagisa-sensei."

Dejected, Shirota turned and walked away. How could he get help if he couldn't even ask for it. When he got home, he thought of dozens of different ways he could ask for Nagisa-sensei's aid, and vetoed every one. How pathetic.

It was about the only thing he couldn't blame Nagone for. He'd never been very good at asking for help. He'd always figure out some way to solve his problems on his own, which often resulted in injury. But a year ago, the thought wouldn't even have crossed his mind to ask for help here. So maybe, just maybe, it was something he could change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I’m back! It’s been a while, how ya doing? I got dragged shopping, so I put this all together while my mom and older sister sifted through clothes. Love y’all. 
> 
> <3 Raaor!


	2. Sakura time!

"Uh... hello... everyone..." Kiya greeted awkwardly. Almost as soon as she stepped into the room that morning, all chatter had ceased, and all eyes were on her. In the time since the class trip ended, she had dyed her hair from hot pink to plum, and missed only the first day back to class.

She stared at the floor as she walked to her seat. Her tongue flicked apprehensively across her lips. She sat down at her desk, slouching, eyes fixed on the grey surface as she felt the stunned gazes of her classmates bore into her. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears for what felt to her like hours, but was really only a few moments.

"Good morning Kiya," Nagisa smiled at her, "I'm glad you could make it." She nodded silently.

Normally, when she came to class, it was for a test. She showed up first, and did not speak to anyone, or even make eye-contact. Knowing people wasn't important to her. She was there to get her diploma so she could qualify for college, not to make friends. But after the trip to the mountain...

She had realized that maybe people weren't _always_ a liability. Since she was little, she'd been taught to rely on herself, and not others. Because of that, she always ended up alienating people, and didn't develop many of the social skills most kids learn in primary school.

"First semester finals are coming up now," Nagisa-sensei was saying, "and I think you can all bring up those 'C's you got on the midterms. The principal seemed a little upset about those, so the tests will probably be harder," Nagisa smirked, "but let's see if we can change 'a little upset,' to 'angry.'" 

"Yeah! Let's wipe that smug look off principal douchebag's face!" Fuyu cheered enthusiastically, and by their reactions, it seemed the rest of the class was in agreement. They didn't love tests, but they did love sticking it to the principal.

"Oh, hey Asui-san," Nagisa said as the girl walked into the classroom looking a bit worse for wear. "What was it today? Windstorm in the hallway?"

"Chased by a large, very scary dog, actually," Asui panted out. "Thanks for asking."

"Why don't you take your seat," Nagisa suggested, "we were just going to start going over the material for finals."

Asui did so, quickly noticing the ever-absent Kiya was in the seat behind hers. "Finally decided to show up, huh Kiya-chan?" Asui smirked.

"I could say the same to you," Kiya responded without thinking to stop herself until it was too late. Damn her sharp tongue and lack of verbal filter. Luckily Asui found it funny, after a moment of stunned silence, and had to stifle giggles.

After that, Nagisa began to review some of the material from the beginning of the semester, adding on new stuff, and incorporating it into the familiar to help their associative memory, as well as increase understandability. Kiya found that, while almost as boring as she'd expected, Nagisa-sensei did help her understand faster than if she had to figure it out on her own with just the textbook and YouTube videos.

Students scribbled down notes, and Nagisa-sensei was sure to pause for questions whenever he thought it might be necessary. This continued until after lunch. At the beginning of fifth period, however, a familiar scraping and squeaking interrupted their studies, and the door to the classroom slid open.

Attention broke, turning to the sound, and in walked a girl in a grey middle-school uniform, with choppy, pink hair, and sharp, irritated eyes. The sound echoed around the room again as she slid the door closed behind her.

"Sakura," Nagisa broke the silence, surprised. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at your own school right now?"

"Yeah, but some idiot lit a box of tampons on fire in the boys' locker room, so they sent all the students home for the day," Sakura explained with a sigh. "But I'm not real eager to head home just yet, so do you mind if I hang out here, just until school's over? I promise I won't be a bother. I'll just sit in the back and work on my homework."

"It's fine with me as long as my students don't have a problem with it," Nagisa turned to his class. "What do you think?"

"I don't think we'd mind..." Misono answered, glancing around at the confused faces of his classmates, before turning to the pink-haired girl. "But... who are you?"

"Oh right!" Sakura said, realizing how rude she must have seemed to barge into their class without even a proper introduction. "I'm Kiyashiki Sakura, and I guess you could say I was your teacher's first ever student, back when he was my age." She gave a shallow bow to Nagisa's class.

"Alright, you can take one of the free seats in the back," Nagisa pointed, and Sakura nodded gratefully.

"Thank you Nagisa... sensei," she added the honorific as more of an afterthought, and he smiled.

After that, fifth period continued as it normally did. The students would occasionally glance back at Sakura, who was working on her Japanese lit. homework, completely absorbed by it. Soon enough, however, sixth period came along. PE.

"Sakura, I'm supposed to lock up the classroom when we go outside for PE," Nagisa explained, "and I can't leave you in here. Can you work outside?" 

"Oh, sure thing!" Sakura agreed, with an alacritous smile, collecting her papers and books and slipping them into her backpack.

"Hey Sakura-chan, do you wanna do PE with us?" Fuyu asked, his usual grin plastered on his face. "Staring at those books so long is gonna make your eyes sore!"

"Yeah! I wanna see what's the stuff Nagisa-sensei's first student is made of!" Hinata agreed, smirking. "Or are you afraid to go up against the big-bad-high-schoolers?"

"Me too!" Kirasaya agreed enthusiastically. "You should totally join us for PE! It'll be great!"

Nagisa shrugged. "What do you say Sakura? I'm not against the idea, if you want to."

"Uhhh... sure, why not?" Sakura said putting her bag down. "But I'm warning you now, you're all gonna get your asses handed to ya!" This announcement was met with cheers. Surely this was going to be an eventful class period.

Sakura changed into a spare gym uniform, and joined 3-5 for PE, which in this class, meant assassination training. They started with warm-ups. Two laps went by quickly, then stretches, and finally twenty push-ups. At this point in the year, everyone could manage it, though a few still got winded, and it took less than fifteen minutes. Sakura had no trouble at all keeping up with the high-schoolers, and even proved to be one of the most flexible of the group. 

Next, they ran through their knife drills, performing each movement with a sharp, well practiced accuracy. When that was done, Nagisa-sensei announced what they'd be playing. He split the teenagers in two teams for the class favorite: assassination dodgeball.

The captain of team A was Hinata, and consisted of Ippantekina, Yatoni, Kiya, Marihara, Fukara, Sujimura, Kurra, Mirikitani, Katsura, and Ushiwara. Team B's Captain was Shirota, and the team was Fumei, Ken, the Ryouma twins, Asui, Satori, Kirasaya, Misono, Saishuu, and finally Sakura.

"Why do you call it 'assassination dodgeball?'" Sakura asked as she took her position among her team. "Isn't regular dodgeball scary enough?"

"Our class is pretty weird, especially PE," Saishuu attempted to explain. "There's a standing challenge to try and 'assassinate'—" he put air quotes around the word— "Nagisa-sensei. Dodgeball for us is pretty hardcore. The goal is to improve our aim, the force and speed with which we throw, our endurance, our reaction time, our reflexes, and our kinetic vision. It's fun, but it's not just a game for us, it's training. And some of us get pretty aggressive with it, so it might be difficult to keep up. Just fair warning."

"I'll keep up just fine thanks," Sakura scoffed, and got ready to sprint for a ball when Nagisa-sensei signaled the start of the game.

It was a difficult match, but Sakura proved herself right pretty quickly. She was excellent at dodging, though she rarely tried to catch a ball, and she only threw if her target was close. She ended up drawing the other team's fire, and she stayed in the game for quite some time, but did eventually get out when Ippantekina threw two projectiles at her, and she was unable to dodge both

In the end, Shirota's team won; him and Misono were the last ones in, against Hinata, and Misono caught the next ball thrown. Finally, the game was over, and so was the school day.

"Well-done, everyone!" Nagisa-commended. "Go ahead and change! I'll see you all tomorrow, and don't forget the homework!" This comment seemed to be directed mostly at Kirasaya, Fumei, and Mirikitani. They weren't the only ones who ever forgot their homework, but they were the worst offenders.

"Hey Kiyashiki-san!" Shirota called, jogging up to the pinkheaded middle-schooler. "Great job today, you were awesome!"

"I know," Sakura said, "But you still stayed in to the end."

"What's that matter?" Shirota asked with a grin and a chuckle. "As long as you can be helpful while you're there, who cares if you're the last one standing, right? And you were damn helpful, Kiyashiki-san."

Sakura blushed. "Thanks. You can call me Sakura if you want..." she offered.

"Oh, alright. I hope to see you again Sakura-san, you seem cool." With that, he waved a goodbye, and headed to the boys' locker room.

Sakura changed out of her borrowed gym clothes quickly, and then she grabbed her school bag, and bid Nagisa farewell.

"It was cool to see you being all teacher-y," Sakura told him. "Your class seems to like you. This was fun."

"I agree," Nagisa said. "They seem to like you too. Are you ready to go home?" Sakura sighed and frowned.

"No," she admitted, "but I had probably better, anyway. I wouldn't want Mom and Dad to notice me being gone too long."

"Have they still been fighting?" asked Nagisa gently.

"More than ever!" she groaned. "I almost wish they would just split up. I mean, I don't _want_ them to be separated, but I feel like it might be better than having them together but miserable... ya know?" Nagisa nodded and patted her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm gonna get going. It was nice seeing you, Nagisa, and meeting your class."

"Yeah, it was nice seeing you too," Nagisa said. "Bye Sakura."


	3. Family time!

"Hey, Nagisa-sensei." Shirota was finally going to ask his teacher about the issue that had been burning in the back of his mind since his brother's request the other day.

"Yes, Shirota-kun?" Nagisa responded. They were the only ones in the classroom, and Nagisa had been just about to leave.

"What do you think about family?" Shirota asked.

"I think... it's more abstract than most people are led to believe," Nagisa answered after a moment. "Family isn't necessarily blood relations, and blood relations aren't necessarily family. I consider Karma my family, even though we couldn't get married for the longest time. I consider Sakura my family, even though we only met by chance and have no genetic ties. My mother, on the other hand, she may have given birth to me, but I don't really consider her family. Not anymore."

"Why not?" Shirota asked.

"Growing up with her... well... it wasn't the best, to put it gently," a frown etched itself onto his face as he thought back to his childhood with that woman. "And I loved her, but she was... really toxic. And for a long time, all I wanted was for her to get better, and then for about three years, she did. But it didn't last, and after she broke again, I decided it would be best to cut her out.

"I've forgiven her, because I didn't want to carry around that rage and fear anymore, but I wouldn't mind never seeing her again," Nagisa explained. "I take it this has something to do with what you were trying to ask me the other day? Is it about your brother?"

Shirota didn't respond. He looked down in thought, letting his inky hair obscure his face.

"The wrong kind of family are fair weather friends," Nagisa said, after allowing his student a few moments to mull over those words. "They take and they take, and they act like they care, but once they have what they want and you're no longer useful, they leave you with nothing. I'd warn you against getting too tied down by the traditional concept of _family_."

"Thanks Nagisa-sensei..." Shirota gave his teacher a shallow bow and left. He had a lot to think about. _Was Nagone a 'fair weather friend?' Was his brother just using him? Also what the fuck is up with Nagisa-sensei's mom?_

—

"Hey Fumei?" Shirota had decided to ask some more people. Nagisa-sensei was always telling them to have more than one source. The first place you look isn't always right. Plus, Fumei was super smart, so he might as well take this opportunity to ask her while they were hanging out. "What do you think about family?"

"Family is bullshit," she answered without the slightest hesitation.

"What‽" This answer surprised him, Fumei seemed to get along great with her family. "I thought you loved your aunt and uncle, how could you think family's bullshit?" 

"They're not actually my aunt and uncle," Fumei told him. "Didn't you already know that? I'm not entirely sure how, or even _if_ I'm really related to them."

"But... still..." Shirota did know that, but it was easy to forget sometimes. "Why do you think that?" She was silent for several long moments, and then finally took a deep breath, and, expression cold and body rigid, she spoke again.

"Did you know I used to have an older brother?" she asked, and he shook his head. She never really talked about her life before she lived with Ed and Mae. "Well I did. His name was Kosho, and he used to tell me that abuse was equivalent to care, because he was a dumb fuck.

"And my parents? They thought I was a _literal_ fucking monster." The new information horrified Shirota, and he was too awestruck to speak, so she continued with a bitter laugh. "Did you know I had no damn idea what a _hug_ was until I was thirteen?"

"What the fuck..." was all Shirota could manage.

"Yeah," Fumei agreed, not making eye contact. "I feel pretty fucking justified in thinking that family is bullshit. But you're right, Aunt Mae and Uncle Ed are great."

"Wow Fumei... I—"

"Also," she cut him off, "we are never speaking of this again, and if you mention anything I said to _anyone_ , I will murder you in your sleep, understood?"

"Uh... understood..." he affirmed, still in shock from what Fumei had just revealed. He guessed family must be a really touchy subject for her. 

—

The cacophony of gunfire filled Shirota's ears before he even opened the door. Strangely enough the loud bangs, and the clattering of shell casings soothed him, and helped him think. He went to the front desk, where a middle-aged man with noise-cancelling headphones stood, a rack of firearms behind him.

"Ah, Shirota the younger," the man greeted cheerfully. "You got your own or d'ya need to borrow one?"

"I've got my own," he said, flashing the clerk a half-smile. He signed in, placed his admission on the counter, and walked back to the shooting range.

He'd shot off two rounds when a familiar face walked past. "Hey Shirota-kun," Muramatsu said, noticing the boy changing the target paper. "Not bad kid."

"Hey Muramatsu-san, and thanks," Shirota said, though he frowned at the paper.

"Something wrong?" Muramatsu asked, but Shirota didn't answer. "How about a wager? If you shoot better than me on the next round, you get free noodles next time you come to the shop, but if I shoot better, you have to tell me what's on your mind."

"That's a lose-lose situation for you, though," Shirota said.

"Max distance, six shots. You game?" Muramatsu asked anyway, taking the spot to Shirota's right.

"You're on." Shirota agreed as he clipped on the new target, and let it return to the back wall. Then the two fired. Shirota did okay, five shots to the chest and one to the shoulder; but Muramatsu did better, two shots to the head, and four to the chest.

"Looks like I win." Muramatsu smirked. It was hardly the first time the two had run into each other there, and every time they'd made a wager, the current score was now seven to seven, and Shirota officially lost the point up he'd had on the older man. "So what's up?"

"Well..." Shirota ruminated for a moment on how he could fulfill his end of the bet without revealing too much. "It just, my older brother wants me to do something... and... I wanna help him out, but... I just think I'm gonna regret it in the future.

"And the whole situation's got me thinking about what family really means, and the people I've talked to about it so far... well... I dunno, it seems like they've had really fucked up experiences with family that most people don't have, so I just don't know what to think."

"Well, I can't tell you what to think," Muramatsu said, "But I can say, speaking as someone with a pretty average family, that eventually there comes a time when you have to leave the nest.

"And that doesn't mean you love your family any less, it just means that you're your own person, independent of them. You're gonna have to start putting yourself first eventually, otherwise your family will start feeling less like a home and more like a cage. Family is supposed to lift you up, not hold you back." Muramatsu shrugged noncommittally. "That's what I think anyway."

"Thanks Muramatsu-san," Shirota nodded thoughtfully, weighing the man's words.

"Eh, no problem."

"I'm gonna head home now, I'll see ya some other time, yeah?" Shirota hung up the noise cancelling headphone and protective goggles and left the shooting range.

"Yeah, catch ya later," Muramatsu waved him off before resuming his firing practice.

_It's more abstract than most people believe..._

_Family is bullshit..._

_Blood relations aren't necessarily family..._

_You have to leave the nest..._

_I don't know how, or even if, I'm related to them..._

_That doesn't mean you love your family any less..._

_I decided it would be best to cut her out..._

_You're your own person, independent of them..._

Even with all these thoughts, and all the great advice he'd received, swirling around his head, Shirota couldn't shake the unhealthy, misguided loyalty his brother had drilled into his brain.

**_You're family, Yukine. This is dad's legacy, don't you wanna be a part of it? Both Shirota brothers, working together, nothing could bring us down. We're stronger together, always have been._ **

_Damn you Nagone._


	4. Legalization time!

"That's great Marihara!" Katsura said cheerfully. "I'm happy for them." The morning break was reaching its end, Nagisa had just returned from the teachers' lounge, and Marihara was showing off some pictures on her phone.

"What's great?" Hinata asked, approaching the girls.

"My sister got engaged!" Marihara answered, beaming.

"To Sugure-san?" Hinata inferred, with a happy sort of surprise. "Wait, so that means..."

"Yup! It was announced just a couple hours ago!" Marihara nodded enthusiastically. "Same-sex marriage is now officially legal in Japan!" 

A loud thunk echoed from the front of the classroom.

Nagisa, overhearing his students conversation, had dropped a textbook in shock. His eyes were wide, his mouth ever-so-slightly agape. The announcement was made during second period, so he hadn't heard yet.

He hadn't been this happy since he and Karma got an apartment together, before that, it was when his parents decided to give their relationship another shot. It was a special kind of euphoria that he only experienced when something he'd hoped for for so long, but thought of as impossible, finally came to be.

—

Karma was seated at his desk, fingers clacking away at his keyboard as he arranged the months' calendar. He would be sitting in at a board meeting the following morning, and had to have it prepared by then. He wasn't worried; he was nearly finished.

A screen on one of his coworkers' desk displayed news, switching between channels every so often. Karma rarely payed attention to it, but then something of interest caught his attention, and his fingers froze as the newscaster spoke, and he clung to every word.

"As you probably know, the official date for the same-sex marriage appeal was earlier this morning. A few hours ago, a verdict was finally reached." The newswoman's voice was almost robotic, just as it always was. She merely reported the facts, it wasn't her job to give opinions. But Karma found himself holding his breath, waiting for her final sentence.

"The result was a resounding approval, and at around nine-thirty this morning, Same-sex marriage was officially legalized in the state of Japan." Karma sucked in a sharp breath. Another coworker, who was apparently stapling papers together, noticed. Saito, a man who'd taken it upon himself to understand everything about this mysterious newbie in the office.

"What is it, Karma-san?" He followed the red-head's gaze to the screen and saw what the news story was about. He whipped his head back around, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You've gotta be kidding..."

Karma didn't even seem to hear Saito. He frantically fished out his phone and called Nagisa. It rung twice before Nagisa picked up. Karma surged forward in his seat, slamming his free hand on his desk, with excitement.

"Nagisa!" he said loudly, forgetting, momentarily, that he was at work, though at this point he couldn't bring himself to care. 

"Karma?" Nagisa's voice crackled through the line, a bit breathless.

"Marry me!" It didn't even have to be a question. He knew what the answer would be.

—

The students half thought that Nagisa would be standing there in shock until the school day ended, but then his phone rang. It sounded twice before he picked it up absently, and held it to his ear.

"Nagisa!" the voice on the other end practically shouted.

"Karma?" Nagisa identified, still reeling from the new development.

"Marry me!" Karma said meaningfully.

"Absolutely." Nagisa didn't even have to think about it. For all his flaws, as annoying, and impish, and often sadistic as he was, Nagisa loved Karma more than anyone.

"I love you Nagisa," Karma said, audibly grinning.

"Love you too," Nagisa responded, face breaking into a smile of his own. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah okay, bye," Karma agreed. There were several long seconds of silence, where neither wanted to hang up, and so they just listened to each other's breaths, until the bell rang signaling that class would start in five minutes, and startled Nagisa out of his trance. He hung up. Only about a third of the class was present, and they had only heard his half of the conversation, but it was enough.

"Karma. Absolutely. Love you too. I'll see you later." Katsura repeated Nagisa's side of the conversation word for word, just in case someone had missed it the first time.

"So you love Karma-san, eh?" Marihara smirked. "Can't say I'm all that surprised, really."

Hinata swore loudly. "I owe Yatoni-kun 1000¥!"

"Which bet did I win this time?" Yatoni asked, walking in just as Hinata began complaining.

"Karma-san and Nagisa-sensei," Shirota answered from the corner, where he'd been talking to Kirasaya and Saishuu, while Fumei mostly ignored them, doing something or another on her laptop. Having already known this information, they were just sitting back to watch the chaos unfold. 

"I knew I should've asked for more," Yatoni smirked. "Pay up half-wit!" Hinata cussed some more as he fished his wallet out of the pocket of his uniform. Nagisa's eyes widened, remembering that he was in his classroom, and had just accidentally outed himself in front of his students.

"I don't suppose you'd keep this to yourselves would you?" Nagisa asked sheepishly. 

"You kidding?" Yatoni demanded. "I've got bets with two other people!"

"Please!" Nagisa bowed slightly, clearly desperate. 

Yatoni sighed. "Keep what secret?" he drawled, disappointed. "Damn." 

"Thank you," Nagisa said, relief flooding his voice when the other three students not already sworn to secrecy nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Yeah whatever," Hinata scowled, then turned to Marihara. "I still wanna see Kowaku-chan and Sugure-san's engagement pics though." Marihara perked up and turned her phone toward him, as she happily showed off the photos.

—

Karma was still beaming when Nagisa hung up. He slipped his phone in his pocket and smiled at his desk, slowly regaining awareness of his surroundings. Saito was still talking.

"Yo! Earth to Karma-san!" Saito was staring at Karma like he'd grown a second head.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Karma demanded. Normally he would have looked annoyed, but he couldn't seem to wipe that damn smile off his face.

"So I take it that Nagisa chick..." Saito trailed off, connecting the dots. After seeing a news story that says gay marriage is legal, Karma called his girlfriend to propose. The most obvious explanation was that this 'girlfriend' of his might not be as female as originally assumed. "Did he say yes?"

"Yeah," Karma couldn't even bring himself to be embarrassed. It didn't even matter anymore. If anyone had a problem with him, or Nagisa, or their relationship, he'd just have to kill them, no big deal. He had half a mind to call his parents, and say as much. There was nothing that could bring him down.

"Then congrats, man," Saito said, smiling as well. 

"Thanks." Karma was still smiling as he went back to work. He smiled as he saved the completed schedule to his hard drive. He continued to smile as he left the office and hurried home as fast as he could to meet his lovely boyfrie—no... fiancé, who had gotten back to their apartment a while ago.

And he smiled as he kissed the bluenette senseless over a pot of simmering curry. He couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled so much, and to be honest, his cheeks were starting to ache, but he didn't care. He was going to marry the most amazing man in the whole world, and there was nothing standing in the way anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not having a schedule is really throwing off my schedule, sorry this is late. Love y’all 
> 
> <3 Raaor!


	5. Mistake time!

"So Yu, have you thought about my proposal?" Nagone asked his younger brother, who had been avoiding him since the proposition had been made. Yukine jumped with a start when Nagone spoke from his bedroom doorway. "We could really use you."

"I don't know... are you sure?" Yukine asked, instead of answering. "Do you really want your kid brother as part of your operation? I'd probably just muck everything up."

"No you wouldn't Yu," Nagone assured unhelpfully. "You've got a knack for this, a little training up and you'll make a great second-in-command. What do you say Yukine? You're not gonna let me down, are ya?" Nagone's voice dropped a few threatening octaves with the last question.

"I guess not." Yukine mentally cursed himself, and his brother. "Where do I sign?"

—

Shirota threw a punch, and followed it up with a sweep kick. Ken dodged the first blow, but with the second, he landed on his butt in the grass. "You okay dude?" Shirota asked, reaching out a hand to help the other boy up. Ken took it, then grabbed Shirota's opposite shoulder and twisted around to he was holding Shirota's hand against his back and holding him to the ground.

"Not bad Ken-kun, nice technique, but you forgot one thing," Ken hummed in confusion as Shirota stood up, the white haired boy still firmly attached to his back. "You weigh, like, ten kilograms. Seriously, you're almost lighter than Fumei-kun, are you getting enough to eat?" Shirota pried his arm out of Ken's grasp, as he continued to essentially piggy pack on Shirota, wrapping his arms around his neck from behind in a chokehold. Shirota grabbed Ken and flipped him over his head, back onto the grass.

Ken coughed and gasped for breath. He'd put up a good fight, but he always tired-out a lot faster than most others in the class. "It's none... of your business... how much... I eat," he panted out.

"Maybe not, but it takes all the fun out of sparring when someone who might actually have the skills to put up a fight runs out of energy after barely a minute," Shirota argued. "I could feel your arm bones when you put me in a chokehold and that can't be healthy."

"Shut up!" Ken said harshly, still laying on his back in the grass, trying to catch his breath. "It's not your job... to be concerned... for my health."

"Well whoever's job it is, they clearly aren't doing it right," Shirota raised an eyebrow.

"You suck," Ken grumbled.

"Whatever you say. Doesn't mean I can't care about a friend."

"Alright two minutes are up!" Nagisa announced. "Find a new partner, and square up!" Shirota helped Ken up, and this time didn't end up in the grass himself.

"Good luck with your next match," he said. Ken rolled his eyes and muttered a 'you too,' before wandering off to find a new sparring partner.

The next person Shirota sparred with was Marihara. She was a smart fighter, and she never made the first move unless she was sure she could do serious damage with it. It was possible to fight Marihara without her throwing a single punch, or you landing one. Her preferred fighting style was 'nope' which wasn't ideal for an assassin, but somehow it worked for her.

"Begin!" Nagisa-sensei shouted.

Shirota and Marihara circled each other. He could feel her eyes scanning him for weaknesses, even the slightest chink in his defense would be exploited by the bespectacled girl, which meant that he couldn't have any. He maintained a solid stance, kept his chin down, and his hands up.

Much to Shirota's surprise, Marihara made the first move, landing a heavy knee to his thigh, heavy for her, at least. Compared to others in the class she wasn't that powerful. He'd be surprised if there was even a bruise. Nonetheless, I caught him off-guard and he jumped back.

"You’re off your game Shirota-kun," Marihara remarked, eyes narrowing as she stepped back out of his punching range. "What's up?"

"Nothing, it was one slip up," Shirota argued. "It won't happen again."

"You sure about that?" She slipped behind him while he was talking and landed another solid kick to his back, jumping back as he stumbled forward. "Because I never land _two_ hits on you. Clearly you're distracted; got something on your mind?" He swung and she ducked under his fist and shouldered him in the stomach. "Tell me again that nothing's wrong."

"I appreciate the concern Marihara-san," Shirota coughed out. "But its really none of your business." He lurched forward, wrapping an arm across her shoulders and pushing her down while she was distracted talking to him. She bit his arm, making him let go, and rolled out of the way. 

"Fine, I'll leave it be," she relented, frowning.

"Why did you bite me? That's gross!" She merely shrugged in response.

"That's time!" Nagisa-sensei shouted. "New partners."

"Shirota-kun!" He turned at the sound of his name to see Hinata approaching. "Yatoni-kun said you just got your ass handed to you by Asuna! Is that true?"

"I wouldn't say I got my ass handed to me," Shirota rebutted, then mumbled,"Can't say I won, though, either..."

"You'd better step it up, man," Hinata told him, now standing directly in front of the other boy. "You're up against me next."

Hinata was the tallest in the class, and easily the most athletic; only Ippantekina came close to his level, and was a more skilled fighter, but he didn't have Hinata's stamina. Shirota could sometimes keep up with him, but his experience didn't always measure up to Hinata's raw strength in a one-on-one fight. And with his head out of the game like today, he didn't really stand a chance.

It only took two solid hits to have Shirota sprawled out on the grass, clutching his stomach where he was sure a bruise was forming. Hinata sat down next to him.

"That was pathetic," Hinata lamented. "There are only, a handful of people in this class worth sparring against, and usually you're one of 'em, but you really sucked today? Are you serious with this? Are you terminally ill or something?"

"Might as well be," Shirota groaned.

"Come _on_ , I didn't hit you that hard," Hinata complained. "Quit bein' a baby."

"My gut would beg to differ if it wasn't currently mush," Shirota argued.

"Psh, whatever." Hinata rolled his eyes. "You'd better get yourself up to snuff fast, 'cause I can't spend all my time sparring with Ippantekina. He's my friend, but he's an asshole. And Misono never shuts up."

"Yeah, plus Misono can fight for like a solid hour too, god he's an endurance _monster_!" Shirota agreed, and Hinata laughed.

"Times up!" Nagisa shouted. "Switch!"

Next, Shirota went up against Ushiwara, who kept somehow sneaking up behind him and getting in his blind spot, which he found terribly funny until Shirota decked him. Then he found it only moderately amusing, as did Shirota.

Class 3-5 may have been looked down upon by everyone, but Shirota wouldn't want to be anywhere else. These were his people, the ones he could fight with and laugh with. Nagisa-sensei was an unconventional teacher, but that made him just as much a part of the class as any student. When Shirota had _this_ to look forward to when he woke up every morning, the idea of being part of his brother's gang paled in comparison. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late; he had already, stupidly agreed.

—

"Let's see what your made of little brother!" Nagone said with a smug grin as he pushed his brother into the crude ring painted on the concrete ground. This was Daimondai's testing grounds where all new recruits faced off against the veterans. This was little Yukine's induction into 'the big leagues.' 

On two sides of the ring, walls held up a sagging, corrugated metal roof. A chain link fence around who-knew-what-and-who-cared blocked a third side. The fourth side was open to a degenerate backyard covered in weeds and trampled grass, and probably a whole lot of broken bottles and shit. A crowd consisting of most of Nagone's gang members had already assembled around the ring in anticipation of this event.

Shirota prepared himself mentally for what was about to happen. It would be just like sparring in class, except instead of a time limit, you fought 'til you won; and instead of friends, he was fighting people who quite probably hated his guts, and had been waiting for a chance to beat him up without incurring the wrath of his brother for quite some time; and instead of a respected teacher presiding over the match, it was his older brother, watching with an eagles eye, just waiting to dive down and swallow him.

"The rules are the usual!" announced Nagone... no, here it was Daimondai. "Winner is determined by K.O., surrender, pushing their opponent out of the ring, or—and this has only happened once—death." Even knowing that his brother only said that to scare people, Yukine shuddered with nerves. No weakness, or he was bird food.

"I'd like to be the first to take a crack at 'im!" A girl with electric pink hair stepped into the ring and tossed aside her jacket, revealing her heavily tattooed arms. Aki, Yukine remembered. He took a breath and steeled himself.

Aki took a swing first, and then proceeded to throw punch after punch at him without rest. The way she fought was similar to Misono, but much slower, and Yukine doubted she could keep it up for even half as long as the purple-headed boy. Yukine blocked and dodged, and quickly found he was right when she started visibly wearing out after scarcely a minute.

He slowly backed toward the edge of the ring, and she advanced accordingly. Once there, he slipped between her slow punches and pushed her from behind. She stumbled out of the ring without even noticing. She turned, growled at him, and started to resume her barrage, but Nagone's second, Katisu, placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed at the line with a smirk.

"Out!" he declared. "Who's next?" No one was surprised at Yukine winning the first match. Newbie or no, he was still the boss' kid brother, and Aki had a reputation as being all bark and no bite. Yukine still had a lot to prove.

"Alright pipsqueak," a tall man stepped into the ring, cracking his knuckles and flexing his bulging muscles intimidatingly. "But Zannin ain't like that little princess."

"Oh, are we referring to ourselves in the third person now?" Yukine said, hoping to distract him. Zannin was built like a tank, and probably fought like Ippantekina, someone Yukine could rarely beat.

"Cheap tricks like that ain't gonna work on me," Zannin said, putting up his fists and widening his stance.

 _Widening his stance, huh? Yukine_ _thought. You know what's a cheap trick..._

There was something Katsura always did, or at least tried to do, in every match against a male classmate, she succeeded less by that point since they were all expecting it, but... Zannin wasn't.

Yukine took a step closer and put up his fists. "What about cheap tricks like this?" he said, then promptly swung his leg upward, directly at Zannin's crotch.

There are few things more satisfying than putting an arrogant prick in his place, one of which is watching a mountain of a man on the ground, moaning in agony, and clutching his dick. Shirota couldn't help his smug smile. "Katsura always said 'kick balls first,' only guy I know that doesn't work on is Fuyu-kun." Zannin clearly wasn't listening. "Do you yield?"

"Hng, I yield," Zannin winced out.

"Damn, that was brutal... _nice_ ," Katisu remarked with an impressed expression and an approving nod, as he dragged Zannin out of the ring. "Who's next?"

"Me!" claimed a wiry guy near the back of the crowd. He squeezed his way past people into the ring. He was dressed like a wannabe thug, and he reeked of cigarettes. "I can tell you like to fight dirty, well that won't be so easy with me."

He pushed up his sunglasses and Yukine couldn't help but think that those sunglasses were the stupidest thing about his whole look. Nothing against sunglasses, but _aviators_? Lame. At least Fumei had the common sense to wear frames that didn't make her look like a douchebag.

"Alright, let's see," Yukine said, unable to stave off a condescending tone.

"Why you little punk, show some respect!" Aviators snarled. He put up his fists, and sneered. He may have looked pathetic, but Yukine could tell by his calculating gaze that Aviators wasn't gonna fall for the same trick Zannin did. He was expecting it. They circled each other a few times before he realized that Aviators probably fought similarly to Marihara. He had a bigger mouth though.

Yukine intentionally left his right side open, and waited for Aviators to strike. He did, and Yukine was ready. He grabbed Aviators' wrist and swung around behind him, pinning his right arm to his back. Then Yukine kicked the back of his knees to bring him to the ground.

"Do you yield?" Yukine asked.

"No!" Aviators retaliated, and Yukine pushed him further so his chest and face were on the concrete, as well as pinning his legs with his own.

"Do you yield?" Yukine asked again.

"No!" Aviators repeated, muffled slightly by the ground. Yukine was really hoping he wouldn't have to do this, but he stretched out Aviators' arm, preparing to break or dislocate it.

"Last chance," Yukine offered.

"NO!" Aviators screamed desperately.

"Hikoka!" Katisu intervened. "You're kissin' the pavement. You're done."

Yukine released him, and the moment he got up, he swung angrily at Yukine, who sidestepped and pushed him the rest of the way out of the ring.

Nago— _Daimondai_ watched his brother from the sidelines, intrigued. Yukine took on opponent after opponent, defeating each, not always easily, but _always_ nonetheless. It had been a while since he'd last seen his brother fight, but he hadn't expected him to improve so much in only around six months.

By about his twelfth fight, Yukine was getting visibly more tired, and Daimondai's shiftiest underling saw fit to enter the ring. Hakushaku, who always hid in the background, watching, observing. He was on the small side, about a centimeter or two shorter than Yukine. He wore a baggy hoodie, and sweatpants, and gave off a vibe of unshakable indifference. He was totally unassuming, which automatically made him at least 17% more dangerous than someone who looked threatening.

Yukine gasped for air, trying to steady his breathing, and Hakushaku removed his hoodie, revealing a tank top and two lean muscled arms.

"Gorgeous," Yukine commented, surprising his newest opponent long enough to ready himself.

Hakushaku opened with a kick aimed at Yukine's head, which he blocked. After that, he came at Yukine with a series of quick attacks aimed at many different places with the hopes that he'd be too preoccupied dodging to notice he was backing out of the ring. Luckily, Yukine was able to stay aware, even though he was growing exponentially more exhausted.

Hakushaku barreled forward, knocking the wind out of him. Yukine tried to grab him, but Hakushaku took advantage of their positioning and kicked Yukine's feet out from under him. Yukine landed on his back with the other young man atop him, pinning him down. Backed into a corner, he fell back on a last ditch trick he'd picked up from Sujimura.

"So," Yukine said, short of breath. "What are you doin' after this? 'Cause you're just my type."

"What?" Hakushaku squeaked in response.

"Short, cute, pretty eyes, and you can kick my ass," Yukine listed, putting on a flirtatious grin. "How 'bout we go out after this, just you and me?"

Hakushaku's face turned a violent shade of red, and he averted his eyes. Suddenly, his position hovering over Yukine, pinning him to the ground, faces a bit too close for comfort, began to feel _extremely_ compromising. He cleared his throat awkwardly, and opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't manage anything resembling actual words.

"Only one thing though," Yukine continued, seizing his opportunity. He jerked his left arm and leg to the right, and flipped them over so their positions had switched. "I top."

"I yield!" Hakushaku yelped, his voice cracking as he said so. "Let me go, I'm out!" Yukine got off, and he scrambled away as fast as he could.

"Alright, I'm calling it!" The crowd parted to let the speaker through, and Daimondai entered the ring. "You're definitely too worn out to fight _me_ , I'm honestly surprised you managed to beat Hakushaku. I think this went very well.

"You're much better than I remember you being. _We'll_ have to spar sometime as well, but not today." Nagone was in full evil overlord mode. Yukine was hit with the too-late realization that should have just thrown the first match, then he might not have even had to join. "I think I'm going to make a few adjustments to the plans, and you'll play a far more interesting part... little brother."

That was the moment Yukine knew.

He fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t edited too well, I’m afraid but at least it’s on time for once. Love y’all! 
> 
> <3 Raaor!


	6. Murder time!

"Gear up, let's go!" Nagone shouted, slamming open the door of his little brother's room and flipping on the light switch without warning.

"Huh? What?" Yukine groaned and pushed himself up. "Go where? What time is it?"

"1:30," Nagone answered.

"What‽" Yukine jumped out of bed and scurried to get dressed. "Why wouldn't you wake me up sooner‽ I'm late for school! It's after lunch al—" he looked out his window—" it's still dark out... Nagone did you wake me up at 1:30 _AM_? Why the fuck, Nagone?"

"We're doin' a patrol tonight, and I want you on it," Nagone explained. 

"I have school today, I need my sleep,"

"Too bad, you're comin', you need the experience," Nagone ordered, "and don't forget a jacket, it's cold out tonight."

"Your concern is touching," Yukine muttered as his brother left. He threw on a pair of sweatpants and a band t-shirt. He dug through his sock drawer for the gun holster Nagone had gotten him for his eleventh birthday, great role model that guy, it fit him a lot better now than it had when he first got it. He wore it under his leather jacket with his .35 caliber pistol. 

Once he'd put on his shoes and slipped his phone in his pocket, he went out to meet his brother at the front of the house.

"Ready Yu?" Yukine nodded. He was not ready, not at all, but he did really want to get it over with. "Let's go then. We're patrolling the east side."

"What do you even _do_ on patrol?" Yukine asked.

"Scare people off, protect our own, and if you see anyone with an Ozoku jacket, beat 'em up," Nagone explained.

"So you just go around beating people up for their fashion choices?" Yukine mumbled tiredly.

"The Ozoku are our rival gang," Nagone explained with a scoff.

"Uh-huh. And our gang is..." the younger brother drawled.

"The Midoryu, you know this Yukine!" Nagone hissed in annoyance. "Now just shut up and come on, we're meeting up with a few of my other guys at the next corner." Yukine did as he was told.

They only waited for a few minutes at the next corner before a girl showed up, dressed entirely in black, from the bandana in her raven hair, to her tactical boots. Despite the cold, she wore a sleeveless shirt that showed off her well-muscled arms, and the tattoo on her left shoulder, they symbol of her gang, a coiled green dragon. Yukine didn't recognize her from his initiation the other day.

"Yu, this is Yonaka, she joined up last year," Nagone introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Yukine said politely, and Yonaka nodded, stony faced.

"She doesn't talk much," Nagone informed him, "but she can be brutal." Yukine had no trouble believing that, though it was a little odd how much it sounded like a compliment when Nagone said it.

"We're just waiting for Hakushaku and Kareo, they should be here soon." Yonaka nodded silently again. Not even a minute later, a lanky man, maybe a year or two older than Nagone sauntered up. He had long hair pulled back in a ponytail, and smiled easily as he approached.

"Hey Kareo, you didn't happen to see Haku-kun on your way over, did you?" Nagone greeted. So this was Kareo... Yukine had fought with him during his inititiation, but hadn't learned his name.

"Nah, But you know him—"

"I'm right here." No one had seen him walk up, but there he was, the same guy who Yukine had defeated with what could easily be defined as sexual harassment.

"So your name's Hakushaku, huh," Yukine said. "Hey, uh, I'm sorry for what I did during our match."

"It's fine," Hakushaku snapped curtly, blushing and looking away. Nagone looked between them in confusion, he'd been too far away during the match to hear what was going on, but now he was very curious what his brother had done.

"Okaaaaay then," Nagone said. "I'm gonna need more details later, but for now, let's get going." And so they did.

It was a pretty quiet night. The only thing they ran into the first hour was a grey tabby with a torn ear, and matted fur, and a scratch through one eye. It hissed at the group as they passed by, and Yukine didn't think anything of it until a few minutes later when he noticed Hakushaku was carrying said cat. When he caught it, or how, or for what reason, or why it seemed perfectly relaxed in Hakushaku's arms, Yukine couldn't fathom.

"What's his name?" Yukine asked, looking at the cat with a half smile. He reached out to pet it and got a finger-full of small, sharp teeth.

"I don't know, she's not my cat," came the response from a smirking Hakushaku. "You're lucky she didn't break the skin, a street cat like this can carry all sorts of diseases."

"I appreciate the concern," Yukine said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

A little while after the first hour and a half, they ran into something. A guy in a blue jacket with the word Ozoku stitched into the back. He was a member of their rival gang.

"Oi! Ozoku!" Na—Daimondai shouted, it was scary how quickly Yukine's brother could switch completely into gang-leader mode.

The guy in the jacket turned, and it was just a kid, no older than Yukine, probably younger. They watch the kid's eyes land on Yonaka's tattoo, and then the one on Kareo's neck, tattoos he recognized, coiled green dragons ready to strike out at him.

The kid fished a switchblade out of his pocket and flicked it open. He was holding it wrong with a look of fierce determination on his face. It was pathetic, and Yukine just wanted to show him how to use the damn thing properly, but before he knew it, Yonaka rocketed forward, knocking the kid on his ass. Kareo and Nagone joined in the beat down.

"Wait, what are they—" Yukine started to ask, appalled.

"They're making him an example, a warning," Hakushaku explained solemnly.

"But he's just a kid!" Yukine protested.

"Doesn't matter, he flies rival colors, we're obligated to show him why that's a bad idea." Hakushaku didn't look away from the scene as the other three kicked the shit outta the poor kid.

" _You're_ not doing that," Yukine pointed out, to which Hakushaku responded by holding up the cat a little higher as if to say, 'I can't, I've got a cat.' "This is wrong."

"What're you gonna do about it?" Hakushaku asked. "You can't fight them all off."

"Like hell I can't," Yukine grumbled, but just as he took a step forward, Yonaka snatched up the boy's knife, and stabbed him in the heart. Then she removed the knife, wiped it on the boy's jeans, folded it, and pocketed it, like some morbid souvenir. Yukine stopped dead.

There was no time to call an ambulance. Without the blade there to stem the blood flow, he would bleed out in minutes, that's if his heart was even still beating. No ambulance could get there in time. And even if it did, Yukine would be getting not only Yonaka arrested, but also his brother, and Kareo, not to mention himself and Hakushaku as accessories.

No. It wouldn't help anybody. The Ozoku kid was already dead, and if he called an ambulance, or any authority, Yukine would be too.

"Somethin' wrong, Yu?" Nagone asked.

"I think you freaked him out," Hakushaku answered. "This was kind of intense for his first day."

"Is that it Yu?" Nagone turned back to his brother. "Yukine?"

Yukine turned and ran, sprinted as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was running except away. He ended up at home and locked himself in his room.

What the fuck had he just witnessed? No, he knew what it was. It was murder. Why the fuck had he just watch his brother participate in the murder of a fucking teenager‽

He fumbled with his phone. He had to call someone. He had to tell _someone_! But who could he even trust with this? Before he realized what he was doing, he had clicked on the contact for Nagisa-sensei. It was a little after three am, but Nagisa picked up anyway. 

"Karma, let go, my student's calling," he heard quietly, then more clearly. "Hey Shirota-kun, what's going on?"

"I um... my brother and his gang just killed a kid," he said. His head was too jumbled to beat around the bush. "I don't know what to do, what should I do?" 

"You need to call the authorities," Nagisa said.

"No," Shirota shook his head, even though his teacher had no way of seeing it. "I can't do that, I'll get arrested as an accessory, and even if I don't, Nagone will definitely have my head if I turn him in. What do I do‽"

"Hey, take a deep breath Shirota-kun," Nagisa advised. "You need to think clearly if you want to come up with a solution." His voice quieted slightly as he said, "sorry Karma this is important, I'll be right back." Shirota heard a door open and close. He took a deep breath, then another, then another.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your night," Shirota said after he'd calmed down somewhat. 

"Don't worry about it Shirota," his teacher replied. "Now let's work through this. What happened exactly?" Shirota explained the situation as well as he could, but when he got to the part about the knife he felt his heart start racing, and had to take a few seconds pause. "So you're afraid to call the police."

"Yeah," Shirota admitted. 

"Do you feel safe at your house?" Nagisa asked.

"Not really, my brother could be home any minute," Shirota said, and the weight of that hit him hard. 

"Then for now, why don't you find a friend you can stay with," his teacher suggested, "at least until we can find a better, more permanent solution."

"Ok," Shirota agreed. "Thank you Nagisa-sensei."

"It's no trouble Shirota-kun, I'm glad I could help, don't ever hesitate to ask me for help. That's what teachers are for." With that, Nagisa hung up.

Shirota scurried around his room, packing his bag with necessities. A friend he could stay with... who could he stay with?

_To: Saishuu_ 🥦

_Hey Im in some trouble can I stay at your place for a while_

It was still absurdly early, so Saishuu probably wouldn't see the text for a while. Knowing Saishuu, he might opt to wait until school started and talk to Shirota then.

"Shit, school!" Shirota changed into his uniform quickly, and snuck out the back door before Nagone got home. He'd be wandering around like a homeless person for a few hours, but that was fine; he couldn't spend another minute with his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep updating out of schedule, my bad. I know it’s late, but here you go. Comments are appreciated (b/c pretty much the only times I remember I’m supposed to post a new chapter is when someone comments) but y’all don’t need to thank me for every chapter, just so’s ya know. Love y’all. 
> 
> <3 Raaor!


	7. Solution time!

"Oh, you're already here," Saishuu said as he entered the classroom the next morning. "I got your text, and of course you can stay with me, but... what kind of trouble?"

"Uh... brother trouble..." Shirota answered, hoping he wouldn't have to explain further. Saishuu didn't pry.

"Well you're welcome to come home with me after school," Saishuu told him, "long as you don't mind _my_ siblings being there, that is."

Shirota recalled Saishuu mentioning that he had ten older siblings which seemed kind of ridiculous, but he didn't talk about them that much. Come to think of it, Saishuu almost never talked about personal stuff. He was kind of the mom friend, always more concerned for the rest of them than himself.

"Thanks Saishuu-kun, you're a real pal," Shirota said with a grateful smile.

"No problem."

"Ah, hello boys," greeted Nagisa as he returned from the staff room with fresh tea. "How are you doing Shirota?"

"I'm doing okay now," Shirota answered. "I'm gonna stay at Saishuu's place for the time being."

"Good plan," Nagisa said, "I hope you figure out something more permanent soon. And as I said, don't hesitate to call for help."

—

"So this is where you live..." Shirota looked up at the house as he and Saishuu walked their bikes up the driveway to the garage. It was a nice place, bigger than Shirota had expected, with a neatly clipped front lawn and a blooming cherry tree. "I don't think I've ever been here before."

"I don't think so either," Saishuu said pensively. "Usually when we hang out it's at Matsuraiken, or Akemi-chan's house, sometimes. I'm pretty sure I've never been to your place either."

"You wouldn't want to, trust me."

"whatever you say," Saishuu said with a shrug, and led his friend to the front door. As soon as the door opened, Shirota heard yelling.

"That's my jacket!" screeched a female voice.

"They're literally exactly the same!" another shouted back in exasperation.

"But that one is mine!"

"There. Is. No. Difference!" A girl with spiky, dark green hair like Saishuu's and a stylish black coat descended the stairs quickly. "I have to go to work, I'm not going to argue anymore!"

"Fuyu-nee get back here!" Demanded the first voice as the young woman snatched a set of keys from a hook by the door and left without so much as a 'goodbye.'

Saishuu sighed and went to a closet on their right. He withdrew a coat just like the one worn by the woman who'd just left, and balled it up under his arm. He stepped to the side of the stairs as another woman, who looked nearly identical to the first except for her long hair, stormed down the stairs in a rage without noticing them.

Once she'd passed, Saishuu went upstairs and Shirota followed curiously. Once upstairs, they went through an open door at the end of the hallway on the right, and Saishuu threw the coat haphazardly on one of the beds. Then he left the room and went back downstairs to find the woman with the longer hair glaring at the closed door.

"Toki-nee, are you sure that was your jacket?" Saishuu said. "Don't you usually leave yours on your bed?"

"Yes, and that bitch twin of mine took it, I'm sure she did," explained the woman, Toki apparently.

"Maybe you just didn't see it," Saishuu suggested. "Maybe you should check again."

"Fine! I'll check one more time, just to prove to you, Mr. know-it-all, that Fuyu-nee is a thieving ass!" Toki said, and stormed back up the stairs with as much ferocity as she had stormed down them, her little brother and his friend in tow. "See! Just like I told you it's n—" she looked at her bed to see the jacket Saishuu had placed there moments earlier—"it's... right there. I could've sworn... nevermind..." finally she turned to really look at Saishuu, and she saw his friend. "Who's this?"

"This is my friend Shirota," Saishuu supplied, and Shirota offered her a shallow bow. "And this is my sister Toki, and the one that just left is her twin Fuyu, like from our class except she's a girl."

"Nice to meet you Shirota-kun," Toki said, still obviously miffed about the jacket.

"He's gonna be staying over for a while, so I'm gonna take him to get his stuff settled." Saishuu turned to Shirota, and they both started down the hallway in the other direction. "We don't have a guest room, but you can crash in Korito's room. He's living in Kyoto right now, so there's no danger of him showing up and getting mad about it." A few doors down, Saishuu stopped at a door with stickers all over it, and a sign that read " _Private Property: Tresspassers Will Be Persecuted_ ," and stepped inside.

The room was painted black, but you could hardly tell with all the posters and art work plastered all over the walls and ceiling for various bands, movies, and plays, especially musicals. Shirota didn't even recognize most of the names. He thought Fukara might be able to, but his level of pop culture knowledge was nowhere near Fukara's.

"I know, Korito is kind of a huge nerd, but all the artwork is his own," Saishuu explained. "He's doing a whole exhibit for some art museum in Kyoto; that's why he's there. Anyway, make yourself comfortable, but if you touch any of his posters he'll know, and don't ask about the skirts in the closet, no one's supposed to know about those.

"Dinner's usually around six-thirty or seven, my room is the one at the far end of the hall on the left if you need me, but I'm hardly ever in there, so if I'm not check the basement. I'll leave you be for a while."

—

"Dinner time!" came a loud cry from upstairs. Not really wanting to be alone, Shirota had joined Saishuu in the basement to play video games and do homework, mostly play video games.

"Let's go," Saishuu said, pausing the game. "Mom doesn't like us to be late for dinner."

"Ah Saishuu, who's this?" asked a woman upon seeing the head of shaggy black hair bobbing up the stairs from the basement behind Saishuu. Her own dark hair was held back in a sloppy bun, and she wore a stained old apron, but she had kind eyes, the same shape and dark green color as Saishuu's.

"Ah, Mom, this is Shirota, I told you he asked to stay over for a while."

"Oh of course!" Mrs. Yukki seemed to remember. "I'm sorry, it must have slipped my mind, I swear I'm so scatterbrained sometimes! Why don't you boys go wash up and have a seat in the dining room, I'll put out an extra plate. Oh! And Dad's back from his trip, so Rakka and his wife are coming tonight."

"It'll be good to see them again," Saishuu remarked. 

"Oh yes!" his mother enthusiastically agreed. "They're finally going to tell us the baby's gender tonight! Isn't it exciting?"

Saishuu chuckled and the boys went to wash their hands in the kitchen sink, and then sat at the table. Moments later, Toki walked in, taking a seat by the corner and resting her feet on the adjacent chair while she scrolled through her phone. The next arrival was an older man whom Shirota assumed was Saishuu's father based on the streaks of grey in his forest-green hair, who sat at the head of the table with a warm smile towards Shirota.

"And who might you be?" he asked good-naturedly. 

"Ah, Shirota Yukine, I'm Saishuu's friend," Shirota responded.

"Well it's lovely to have you, Yukine," Mr. Yukki said. "I'm Saishuu's father." Shirota bowed his head politely.

A girl walked in, long, bleached-blonde bangs hid most of her face, and long sleeves, her hands. She snuck in like she didn't want to be noticed, and sat to Mr. Yukki's right as if trying to hide behind his broad shoulders and wide belly.

"Ah, Maketa, I was wondering where you were my boy," Mr. Yukki said, patting the boy(?) on the shoulder. He had such a small, meek presence that Shirota had assumed he was a girl at first, but seeing him closer it was clear that he was just shy.

"Rakka and Yanwari should be here any minute," Mrs. Yukki said as she placed a pot of hot rice on the table. "Where's Fuyu?" 

"Stuck in traffic," Toki answered quickly, not looking up. "She'll be here."

"Ok, good. Does anyone know if Akarui will be here?" Mrs. Yukki asked.

"Not a clue," Toki responded.

"No, she's still in that play, she has a performance tonight," answered Maketa, almost inaudibly, though it seemed his mother heard him fine.

"Ah, of course!" she said. "How could I forget, I swear I'm so scatterbrained sometimes." Shirota was beginning to think that was her catchphrase or something. She laughed. The doorbell rang. "Oh that must be them!" she sang, and left the room to answer the door.

There were some indistinct greetings, and then a young man bearing the Yukki family's distinct moss-green hair walked in, hand in hand with a pretty young woman in a blue dress and matching knit sweater, who was about five or six months pregnant. Shirota had always assumed his friend dyed it before, but apparently green was a natural shade, how strange.

"Hey everyone!" the man greeted. This must be Rakka, Shirota guessed, which meant the woman was his wife, Yanwari. Rakka pulled out a chat for her to sit down in before sitting down himself.

"Fuyu says to start without her, but save her some of the buta," Toki reported.

"You heard the lady," Rakka laughed, clearly eager to get started on the meal.

"Thank you for the meal," chorused the group, and then plates were served and bites were taken.

Fuyu arrived, Shirota introduced himself a few more times, Mrs. Yukki scolded Toki for having her phone out at the table, Shirota learned that Maketa was actually the drummer in a band, which came as a huge surprise considering how soft-spoken the boy was. Rakka and Yanwari announced that the baby was going to be a girl, and that they weren't sure what they wanted to name her yet.

It was all so... normal? Was that the word? Comfortable? And yet so completely foreign to Shirota. Even though he felt that he really had no business being there, Saishuu's family welcomed him with open arms, and treated him like he was part of their family, just one more brother, green hair or not.

It was something Shirota had never experienced before. Family dinners were for families who were close, who really loved each other, and Shirota's family was not really one of those. He hadn't realized how true that was until he was thrust into a family that was all of those things and more. He hardly knew any of them, and yet he felt more at home around this dinner table of strangers than he had ever felt with his own family.

After dinner he helped wash dishes, Rakka actually hugged him when he left, which was weird, but not unappreciated. He and Saishuu finished their game and went upstairs to get ready for bed, and Shirota couldn't stop himself from telling his friend one thing. "I can't believe you live like this... I didn't think families like this were real..."

"Yeah, I know, they're all kind of weird, aren't they?" Saishuu joked.

"They're... happy..." Shirota said. "I didn't think families could be happy like this. Mine never was..."

"Oh..." Saishuu seemed at a loss for words. "Don't worry bro, we'll find some kind of fix to whatever's going on. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks," Shirota said, and he really meant it, but at the same time, he wasn't sure what they even _could_ do. At least, without incurring the wrath of the ruthless Daimondai and his numerous lackeys. "I really owe you one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late again! I’m out of excuses so... whoopsie, I guess. Anyway. Here’s a master list of the Yukki siblings in age order since I’m sure you’re confused. 
> 
> *Name (kanji ; meaning (gender-age))*:  
> 1) Sento (先頭 ; first, lead (m-30))  
> 2) Shiroi (白い ; white (f-29))  
> 3) Korito (氷と ; with ice (m-27))  
> 4) Tekibishi (手厳しい ; harsh (m-26))  
> 5) Rakka (落下 ; falling (m-25))  
> 6) Nohaka (の墓 ; grave of (m-23))  
> 7) Akarui (明るい ; bright (f-22))  
> 8) Toki (冬季 ; winter (f20)) -twin  
> 9) Fuyu (冬 ; winter (f-20)) -twin  
> 10) Maketa (負けた ; lost (m-18))  
> 11) Saishuu (最終 ; last (m-17))
> 
> Mr. and Mrs. Yukki are in their mid-late fifties, and Yanwari(Rakka's wife) is 23. 
> 
> Love y’all
> 
> <3 Raaor!


	8. Attempt time!

Over the next couple of days, Saishuu and Shirota tried as hard as they could to come up with a solution, but the possibilities just became more and more ridiculous the longer they were at it. They went from _turn Nagone and his gang in to the police and live alone_ , which Shirota vetoed since he didn't want to be responsible for sending his brother to jail, and he didn't want anyone gunning for him when they got out; to _buy an elephant and use it to trample the hideout so they don't have a meeting place and have to disband_.

When the weekend was over, Saishuu decided to approach someone smarter than them about the issue. He caught Fumei at lunch, and let her in on the situation.

"Hey Fumei-kun," he walked over to her desk. "Can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

"Why the hell not?" Fumei replied, and they stepped out to a place where they wouldn't be disturbed. "What's up?"

"It's about Shirota-kun," Saishuu started. "He got pressured into joining his brother's gang, and now his brother wants him to be part of some big project the gang is working on. But see, this gang, they... Shirota-kun said they killed somebody, and he's really freaked out, but he won't turn them in to the police because his brother brainwashed him into being super loyal, and he also doesn't want people like that to have a grudge against him."

"What the fuck do you want me to do about it?" Fumei questioned, crossing her arms. "I warned him that family was bullshit, and he went and made his fucking bed anyway. Now he's gotta lie in it."

"Fumei..." Saishuu knew that she cared, she just wasn't any good at emotions like that. "He's been living with me for the past few days, and he's turned down dozens of calls, and tons of texts from his brother. He's trying to act like everything's fine, but I can tell he's really scared. You're smart, Fumei-kun, and you're a badass, I know you can figure out some sort of solution! We've been trying, but so far... we got nothing."

"What's this gang called?" Fumei asked.

"Um... Midoryu I think..."

"Fuck it." Fumei sighed heavily and walked away. Saishuu hoped that was an _I'll work on it and get back to you_ 'fuck it,' as opposed to a _that sounds like a you problem_ 'fuck it.' But it was hard to tell.

—

"Hey, uh, Saishuu-kun," Shirota closed the door behind him as he stepped into the other boy's room. "I think I'm gonna head home. Maybe... maybe I can talk some sense into my brother. I can't stay here forever, so I'm gonna have to deal with this sooner or later."

"Screw that, you can stay here as long as you need," Saishuu insisted. "My parents love you, and I'm sure they'd agree. Stay here for a hundred years if you have to, you're my friend, bro, and I want you safe."

"Thanks, but this is something I need to do," Shirota insisted, and turned to leave. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

—

Shirota pulled out his key when he reached his front door, only to notice that it was already open. He stepped through, and looked around, but he couldn't see anything. He searched the house, and finally figured out what was up when he got to the kitchen.

Fumei was there, and his brother was unconscious on the floor. Nagone was breathing, but clearly he wouldn't be going anywhere. Yukine had no idea how she'd managed to knock him out. Nagone was easily more than twice her size, and an experienced fighter.

She stood over him with a disgusted frown. Her sunglasses sat on the counter, folded neatly, and her eyes mirrored the twilight out the window, and burned with something unmistakably sinister. In her hand was a kitchen knife.

"Fumei! What are you doing‽" Yukine demanded.

"Saishuu asked me to help take care of your family problems," she explained. "I'm helping."

"By what‽ Killing my brother‽" She said nothing, and did nothing, merely standing there in solemn silence. "You can't do this! He's my brother, and he's never done anything but protect me!"

"By inducting you into a violent gang of criminals?" Fumei argued. "As long as he's alive you'll be living under his thumb!" 

"What if it was _your_ older brother‽" Yukine tried to reason. "Kosho, right? Could you kill him then? You couldn't, could you?"

"No..."

"See—" he started to say, but she cut him off, glaring at him so harshly he had to force himself to stand his ground and not shrink away from her gaze.

"You're right, I couldn't. Even if I wanted to, someone else already did," she said sourly.

"What?" His voice was weak.

"My psychotic parents killed him for getting 'F's on his finals," she explained. "Don't you remember? I said I _used_ to have a brother. Just like I _used_ to have parents. I've said it before and I'll say it again; family is bullshit Shirota. They're parasites, and handcuffs, and cement shoes in the ocean. If you don't get rid of them you'll suffer until you die."

"No Fumei!" he insisted. "My family... my brother... he's important to me. And I won't let you kill him! I won't. I'll... I'll... I'll figure something else out. I won't let you do this..." Yukine was on the verge of tears.

Fumei had never seen him like this before. He was always joking around, flirty, cool, collected; he didn't get all emotional like this. He didn't get scared like this. It was so unusual, eerie even, to see this side of him. So stressed out and afraid that he'd break-down right in front of her. She returned the blade to the knife block, and picked up her sunglasses, putting them back on.

"Fine, have it your way," she said, and stepped past him, making sure to bump his shoulder with her own. It was as close as she could get to a hug without feeling awkward; she didn't really know how to do the whole 'physical contact' and/or affection thing. "Let me know if you need help. I'm still your friend, even if I disagree with your life choices. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

Yukine nodded, and as soon as he heard the front door close behind his friend, he fell to his knees, and wept.


	9. Secret plan time!

"Saishuu-kun, I wanna help." It was Fumei's turn to scheme at lunch. "I have a plan, but it's very important that Shirota doesn't figure out what we're doing."

"What do you have in mind?" Saishuu asked suspiciously, trying not to let on that Shirota had told him about Fumei's actions the previous night. She frowned at him, and he got the distinct feeling she already knew.

"Midoryu is a large gang, but they're also haphazard. All the members have varying skill levels, and almost none have formal training. What they have is numbers, brute force, and unwavering loyalty to their leader," Fumei explained. He could tell she was serious because she wasn't cussing, she only stemmed her foul language when she was excited or afraid, and considering the situation, she could be either or both right now.

"They've got about thirty grunts, and maybe five actual threats," she continued. "But you and Shirota have been ignoring a valuable resource of your own."

"What's that?"

"Your class is made up of twenty-one assassins plus Nagisa-sensei. Together, I don't think we'd have any trouble taking on a bunch of thugs. And we don't even need to fight necessarily," Fumei finished. "We show up, threaten them, give em a good scare, and demand they let Shirota out of their gang."

"Sure, in theory," Saishuu started to argue, "but do you really think we'll be able to convince all of them to help us out with this extremely dangerous and probably illegal thing? Maybe you've forgotten about self-preservation and the law, but I don't think most of our classmates would be so quick to dismiss those things for us."

"Not for us. But for Shirota? I think they would."

"What makes you so sure?" Saishuu asked.

"Fucking trust me for two minutes," she said, and he was pretty sure she rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses.

"Alright fine," he relented. "It's worth a shot I guess."

—

"Hey Akemi-chan," Saishuu decided that of everyone in the class, she would be the easiest to persuade. "How far would you go to get Shirota-kun out of a bad situation?" he asked her as she was unlocking her bike to go home.

After a few moments of serious though, Kirasaya answered, "I'd burn down a building with people still inside." When she saw the surprised look on his face, she figured she had better explain. "Maybe that's a bit severe, and I certainly wouldn't _want_ to do that—Shirota-kun has been my friend for a long time, and I know I can rely on him. If I were in trouble, he'd do the same for me."

"Well, he's actually in trouble," Saishuu explained. "He joined a gang, and he's at his wits' end. Fumei came up with a plan to threaten them to let him out, but to do that, we need the help of everyone in the class."

"I'm in," Kirasaya said immediately. "Just text me when and where and I'll be there."

"Oh... alright." Admittedly, Saishuu had not expected that to go as well as it did, but he wasn't complaining.

—

"What do you mean 'Shirota-kun's in trouble'?" Fuyu asked in response to Fumei's vague request. "What's going on?"

"He joined a gang, and in order to get them to let him the fuck out we're gonna need our whole-ass class on board," Fumei clarified to the twins.

"What are we gonna do?" Fuyu asked.

"Simple," Fumei put her hands on her hips and smirked. "We scare the shit out of em."

"You want us to threaten an entire gang?" Fuyu translated, both him and his sister taking the situation very well. "Sounds fun. What do you think, Natsu?"

"I'm down," Natsu agreed.

—

"Of course I'll help," Marihara scoffed as if the answer to Saishuu's question was so obvious it hardly needed to be asked. "Just let me know me when and where."

—

"Alright, Fumei-kun," Kiya said with a nod. "I can't exactly say 'no.' I seriously owe him."

"I'm in too!" Asui added. "What about you, Satori-chan?"

"I'll go if you go," Satori agreed.

"That's three more for your plan then," Asui grinned and flourished a hand, "we await your signal."

—

"Have you told Nagisa-sensei?" Kurra asked. "He would know what to do."

"Nagisa-sensei has been teaching—training us to solve our problems ourselves," Saishuu said. "I think he'd be proud we're trying to handle this without his help."

"Alright. I'll do it."

—

"What's in it for me?" Ippantekina scowled, and Hinata jabbed him in the side with an elbow.

"Dude, do you need an excuse to help a buddy out?" Hinata frowned down at Ippantekina; sometimes being awkwardly tall had its advantages. "This is why you don't have a lot of friends." Ippantekina just scowled, silently acknowledging the truth of that statement, but not liking it. Hinata smirked and turned back to Fumei. "We're in."

"One condition!" Ippantekina interjected.

—

"Of course," Ken agreed immediately.

—

"Sure," Fukara shrugged, "don't know how much help I'll be, but I owe him one, anyway."

—

"Why not?" Yatoni said. "Any excuse to have something to hold over his head."

—

"Yeah," Misono said, grinning cheekily. "I wouldn't ignore a friend in need."

—

"Alright!" Ushiwara smiled enthusiastically. "It'll give me a chance to try out that new trick he taught me."

—

Saishuu was surprised at how accurate Fumei's claim had been. As soon as they mentioned it was for Shirota, not one of their classmates refused. It seemed that everyone in the class considered him a friend. A good one.

Shirota's friendly attitude, and his penchant for helping anyone who needed it, were serving him very well in his hour of need. Saishuu was a bit awestruck. He had never noticed it before. His friend was so modest, and didn't seem all that popular, but somehow Fumei had picked up on it anyway. And she was sure taking advantage of it.

Organizing what amounted to a coup d'état against a gang leader that none of them even knew, with nothing but a bit of knowledge and some light leverage? That girl could be really scary sometimes.


	10. Threat time!

"Is something wrong, Blueberry?" Karma asked, watching his fiancé pace the living room.

"No," Nagisa answered. "Sort of?"

"Talk to me, Nagisa," Karma said.

"I mentioned one of my students got roped into joining his brother's gang, right?" Karma nodded. "Well I've been overhearing his classmates, all of them, making plans to get him out. I always knew they'd be good at working together, that was clear from the beginning, but this is a big deal."

"Do you think they can handle it?" Karma asked.

"I want to. And I do, but..." Nagisa trailed off, but Karma knew exactly what he was thinking.

"You're worried, aren't you," Karma finished for him.

"I'm really proud that they're trying to do this on their own. They're almost adults now. I shouldn't be worrying so much."

"'Almost adults' is still kids," Karma reassured, stopping the bluenette's pacing by pulling him into a hug. "It's okay to be worried. If you want to go with them, just as a precaution, you should tell them. I'll even go with you, if you want; I like those kids."

"You would? You don't have to."

"Of course." Nagisa hugged his fiancé back, finally. He felt lucky at that moment. Like the luckiest man alive.

—

"Saishuu-kun, Fumei-kun, may I talk to you after class?" Nagisa asked just as the bell had rung.

"Should I wait up for you?" Shirota asked.

"Nah, go on ahead, I'll catch up," Saishuu answered. Shirota nodded and left the classroom with the rest of the students, completely oblivious to what was going on, unlike his peers who had some pretty good guesses. "Are we in trouble, Nagisa-sensei?"

"No you're not in trouble," Nagisa assured. "In fact, I'm very impressed by what you two are doing."

"Uhh... what... what do you mean?" Saishuu stumbled out, nervously.

"I know what you two are planning, don't try to deny it," their teacher said. "I want you to know that I'm proud, but I'm also worried. I'd like to come with you. I'll stay out of the way, and not interfere unless I have to. I want to respect your independence, but I also have a responsibility to make sure you're all safe."

"Alright, Nagisa-sensei," Saishuu agreed after a moment. He tried his best to make his worried glance towards Fumei subtle, and if Nagisa noticed, he didn't say anything. Adult supervision was probably for the best.

—

It was tricky, organizing every student in the class without Shirota knowing. Being the most connected kid in class, he was hard to work around, especially without seeming suspicious. Somehow, and no one could say how exactly, they managed to pull it off. A date and time were set. And twenty students, and one teacher, all prepared themselves for the worst, while trying to hope for the best.

They all met one block away from the Midoryu's headquarters. The idea was to have Ritsu connect them all before they went in, just in case, then most of them would enter through the front door en masse for maximum intimidation points. Asui, Ushiwara, Ken, Kiya, Nagisa, and the Ryouma twins would split off from the group beforehand and find hiding places so if things went south they could ambush the gang members and get the drop on them, throw them off their rhythm, if nothing else.

Ippantekina was the last to arrive, dragged behind Hinata to the stern glares of Marihara. "Sorry we're late, Harushit was being a whiny bitch about it," Hinata—apologized? Complained? Insulted?—said. We'll go with said.

"As per fucking usual," Fumei muttered, turning on Ritsu. "Alright Ritsu, link us up, please."

"Of course," Ristu agreed cheerfully. She was wearing grey tactical gear with a yellow 'E' on the collar, a similar get-up to the one Nagisa-sensei was wearing, and Fumei noted it to mention at a more opportune time. "Link established. Best of luck to you all!"

"Thanks Ritsu." Fumei slipped her phone in her pocket and returned her attention to her classmates who were checking to make sure their phones weren't on silent. "We all know the plan?" A round of nods, twenty faces set in solemn and determined expressions. "Alright. Let's split up. Good luck 'B' team, and be careful."

The seven who had been designated as 'B' team, or "the sneakers" as they'd been nicknamed, slipped off into the night, disappearing into the shadows to regroup in the rafters or the walls. Silent cobras preparing for the right moment to strike down their prey.

The rest of the class, 'A' team, waited a few minutes for the sneakers to get into position, then walked purposefully toward their target. When they reached the front door of the broken down building, Saishuu knocked, they weren't animals after all. The door swung open to reveal a man barely older than they were, and shorter than a good few of them. He was unassuming, and wore comfortable-looking clothes that had what looked to be cat fur in a few places.

"Who is it Haku-kun?" called a voice from inside.

"I dunno!" the man called back over his shoulder. "Looks like a bunch of kids!" He turned back the them. "Who are you?" He asked evenly, seemingly unperturbed by the group of teens, one of whom had a sword.

"We're friends of Shirota's," Saishuu began while Fumei stood next to him with her arms crossed, glaring menacingly, not that one could tell with her sunglasses on.

"Uhhh... I don't think so..." the man, Haku, said with a frown. "Wait. Shirota who?"

"Yukine," Saishuu clarified, realizing the confusion.

"That makes more sense, I guess," he said, still frowning. "Why are you here? If you're looking for him, nobody here's seen him in like, a week." This was a lie. Hakushaku knew exactly where the younger Shirota brother was staying, but he had not told anyone for the boy's safety, and he would not tell the boy's friends that he knew for two reasons. One: they already knew, and he knew they already knew, and two: he was playing dumb, otherwise he would not have asked in the first place.

"Actually, we came to convince his brother to let him out of the gang," Saishuu explained. They had all agreed beforehand that he should do most of the talking as he was easily the most diplomatic among them. The other two students who were good talkers were Asui, who was a sneaker, and Shirota, who was obviously not present.

"And you brought 13 high-schoolers, with impressive glares I might add, just because... what? You wanted an entourage?" Haku raised an eyebrow.

"We were hoping your leader would just agree, but we're prepared to make him release our friend by force if need be," Saishuu said, just the slightest threat in his voice. "We would like to come in and speak with Daimondai."

"Alright," the man agreed, and gestured for them to follow him inside. He knew very well that Yukine was not well suited to this life as his brother was. But he also knew that the fearsome Daimondai would not give up a prize fighter so easily, so this should at least be entertaining to watch. "It's some friends of your brother's, boss," Haku introduced. "They wanna talk to you."

"Great, thanks," Daimondai said sarcastically. "Can you get your damn cat outta here, Hakushaku, everyone keeps tripping over it!"

"She's not my cat, and I didn't let her in," he responded.

"I don't care," Daimondai snarled back. "It followed you in, and it won't let anyone else touch it. Get rid of your damn cat." Hakushaku rolled his eyes and left in search of the animal. "What do you want?" Daimondai asked the group of teens, annoyance clear in his voice.

"We want you to let your brother out of your gang," Saishuu said, voice stern but still level.

Daimondai let out a bark of laughter. "Why the fuck would I do that?"

"He doesn't belong in a place like this," Saishuu said imploringly. "Everything you do here terrifies him, and he hates it. He's not like you, and he doesn't want to follow in your footsteps."

"If that's true why didn't he tell me that himself when I asked him to join?" Daimondai said smugly.

"Because you _brainwashed_ him to never go against what you want!" Fumei snarled. Daimondai's head snapped over to the girl, noticing her for the first time. His eyes widened briefly, and then his face set in a contemptuous scowl.

" _You_ ," he snarled, "you've got some nerve showing your face again. I'll kill you, you psychotic bitch."

"Try me, fucker," she said, and lifted her sunglasses so that only he could see her glinting, midnight black eyes before placing them back over her face. His breath caught almost imperceptibly with fear, but she noticed, and smirked.

"Okay, ignoring that," Misono interrupted, "Mr. Daimondai, Shirota-kun is our friend, and he's in trouble. All due respect, but this gang isn't good for him. He's been all anxious and spacey, and we just want him back the way he was. Don't you want that too? He's your brother, don't you want what's best for him?"

"Have you seen the kid fight?" Daimondai said, still eyeing Fumei warily.

"Of course, we do sparring in P.E.," Misono said.

"Then you know why I can't let him leave," the man said. "Don't know where he is just now, but he'll come crawling back eventually. I'll have him when I need him."

"So you won't let him go willingly?" Saishuu reiterated despondently.

"Not a chance, kid."

"Then we'll have to make you," Saishuu said, gathering his resolve.

"You know, even if it was just me against all you kids, you still wouldn't win," Daimondai said, "but as it happens, I've got an army of my own. Come on gang, we've gotta teach these kids a lesson. Barging in here and making demands like they own the place. Children don't belong in a place like this, let's send 'em home to their mommies."

"Ristu, signal," Fumei whispered, and the AI obliged.

"Finally, we get to do something," Ippantekina said loudly, cracking his knuckles with a grin. "I was worried these pussies would actually give in."

"You asshole," Hinata chuckled at his friend, and the two barreled toward a group of about half a dozen gang members who were following their leader's orders.

A man grabbed Satori from behind and she squealed and fought back almost entirely on instinct, knocking the guy unconscious in a matter of seconds. "Nice Sato-chan," Asui commented as she dropped from the ceiling onto another man, and swiftly kicked the legs out from under a third.

"Uh thanks?" Satori squeaked, returning to fighting when a man with bleached-blonde took a swing at her head.

Katsura had gone immediately for some of the larger, scarier looking men, who were now on the ground, clutching their sore spots. The enemy's numbers were thinning, several gang members had seemingly disappeared thanks to Ushiwara and Kiya, who snuck up behind people, knocked them unconscious, and dragged them into various rooms and closets. And Kirasaya was literally just whacking people really hard with her still-sheathed katana, but it worked.

Misono, never much for dodging, already had several bruises visibly forming on his skin, but he didn't look at all fazed by the abuse he was taking.

"You're not bad, kid," the man he was fighting said. "Never seen anyone take so many hits and keep swinging. What's your name?"

"None of your business you lump," Misono snapped.

"You're not even out of breath," the man noted.

"But you will be," Misono smirked. You see, he had noticed something that the large man had not, and that was a certain quiet artist approaching from behind, arms ready to wrap around the man's neck, which they did.

Mirikitani latched onto the man like a boa constrictor and didn't let go, even when he stampeded through the battlefield and rammed the teenager against walls, until he collapsed from lack of oxygen.

"Thanks Mirikitani-kun," Misono said. Mirikitani responded with a nod, and they both returned to fighting.

Daimondai stood out of the way, thinking his goons would be more than capable of getting rid of children, but one of his best fighters had just been taken down by a bald kid and his friend with purple hair, another was engaged in what looked to be a battle of circling each other and not doing anything with a little girl with glasses and pencils in her hair, and even his second most skilled fighter, Mari seemed to have her hands full with two of the taller boys who attacked her relentlessly from both sides.

Katisu, his second in command, was fighting the green-haired kid who had done most of the talking—wait, where was the green-haired kid? He saw Katisu's head whipping around clearly wondering the same thing, then a girl with safety pins all over her jacket dropped from the sky and jumped on Katisu. She didn't knock him over, but she threw him off balance, and the the green haired kid reappeared, and Katisu was trapped under a knife. So much for his second in command. Where was his trump card? His ace in the hole?

"Hakushaku! Get in here!" he bellowed.

"Coming boss." The reply could barely be heard over the sounds of fighting, and a few moments later, Hakushaku returned from down the hall carrying the fucking cat. "Oh."

Almost immediately, he was confronted by a pair of identical twins. "Wait!" Hakushaku said quickly. "Don't! You'll spook the cat!" The twins stepped back uncertainly, but didn't put their fists down. "I'm not gonna fight, so you can go at somebody else. Try the girl with pink hair and tattoos, she's easy pickin's." The twins looked at each other, and then at Hakushaku as he pushed an unconscious associate off the couch and sat down, kicking his feet up and stroking the cat on his lap.

"Haku you useless ass!" Daimondai snarled, but it made no difference. He was down to just a handful of underlings, and they were surrendering, even without his order to do so. They were only human after all, and their self-preservation instinct was bound to kick in at some point. It was time to surrender.

Nagone crossed the floor, stepping over bodies, all of which were breathing as far as he could tell. "Call my brother, and get him here," Nagone asked Saishuu once he reached the boy. "I give. I'd like to take care of my people while we wait for him to arrive."

"Fumei-kun, keep an eye on him," Saishuu asked, and pulled out his phone.

"With pleasure," Fumei said with a smirk.

The students helped clean up, and those who knew how helped with first aid. They had got what they wanted, and there was no reason to be jerks about it. No one was injured too terribly beyond a couple of concussions and maybe a few broken bones. No one was dying, anyway. 

Yatoni glanced up at their teacher who was still up in the rafters, largely unnoticed and obscured by shadow. Hardly anyone saw him swing down and clap when a student was in danger. Kirasaya had counted twice, Mirikitani counted twice as well. Saishuu counted three times, Katsura four, but only Fumei and Yatoni had noted all six times the teacher had immobilized an enemy with the clap of his hands.

"Oh, is the fighting over already?" Sujimura asked as she sauntered into the room with two of Daimondai's men following behind her like lovesick puppies. "I guess I'll see you later boys."

"No need to ask where you've been," Kurra rolled his eyes and sneered.

"You fight your way, I'll fight mine." Sujimura glowered at him.

"Enough," Nagisa said, finally dropping down from the rafters to end their argument before it began. He didn't know why, but those two had been at odds since the class trip and it was beginning to grate on everyone's nerves.

"Just how many of these high-schoolers are there?" lamented one of the Midoryu through the gauze in his mouth which stemmed the blood from a missing tooth.

"Actually, I'm their teacher," Nagisa said with a frown.

"So you're the famous Nagisa-sensei," Nagone said. "I should have known you set all this up, Yukine speaks very highly of you, when he speaks at all."

"Actually the students planned and executed this themselves," Nagisa said. "They just let me tag along. They're very bright young people, and resourceful, and compassionate, and talented, and your brother is no exception. I don't mean to offend, but I believe his potential would go to waste in an organization like this. Wouldn't you like to see him grow to be even greater than you someday?" Nagone said nothing, just stared at his feet in thought.

"He's almost here," Saishuu informed them all.

They waited tensely for a few minutes, and then the door opened, and Shirota Yukine was there. "Holy shit," he said once he saw everything. "What the hell happened‽"

"You've got some good friends is what happened," Nagone said. He walked toward his brother, and Yukine took a step back. "It's a real shame they're not on my side, honestly. I could use some kids like them in my group... but they came here to make me let you out. Kicked all my guys' asses, and didn't leave me no other choice. I'll say it again... you certainly picked yourself some good friends little Yukine."

"Um... Nagone?"

"They told me that you never wanted to join up in the first place, is that true little brother?" For once, the word 'brother' felt like an endearment as opposed to a cage, it was strange, but not unwelcome. Yukine nodded. "They said that since you joined up you've been scared and anxious?" Yukine tensed, but nodded again, more hesitantly this time. "And your teacher here said that making you stay would be a waste of your postential, and that you're too good for this life."

"I don't know about that..." Yukine admitted.

"I do," Nagone said. "And it's one hundred percent true. I'm sorry for making you feel like you didn't have a choice. I see now that you've found your own gang, your own family, and it's not me and mine. I officially release you from the Midoryu. You can get that tattoo removed if you want, or you can keep it. I'm still you're older brother, though, and I'm gonna protect you, even though you've got other people for that now."

Yukine shot forward and hugged his brother tightly. "Thanks."

"You can come back home now, if you want," Nagone said breaking the hug, "I won't try and make you do anything." Yukine nodded again.

Finally this whole mess was over, and everything was settling down again. Just in time too, because they were only a week away from summer vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ummm......... so I like... forgot that I still had one more chapter to post on this arc? So it's been done the whole time and I just.. completely forgot to post it??? SSSssssssorryyyy.... that's my bad..... love y'all
> 
> <3 Raaor?


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